What great achievers do that the mediocre do not

“Survival can be summed up in these words – never give up. That`s the heart of it really. Just keep trying”-Bear Grylls

If the little baby who kept falling as he or she attempted walking had quit trying, such a baby would probably never have learnt to walk. It is common knowledge that babies eventually learn how to walk after several falls; the falling is part of the process of learning to walk. You are not a failure because you failed. You are a failure if you quit trying.

In the pursuit of worth-while goals and aspirations, there are the lows and the highs. There are times you may succeed. There are also times you may fail. In virtually every field of human endeavour, it is those who keep forging ahead despite their mistakes, failures and seeming lack of progress who eventually come up tops. Show me an individual who is an expert at what he or she does and I will show you one who kept trying until he or she attained mastery; refusing to give up despite the odds.

The success stories of the world’s great achievers are littered with struggles, hurdles, failures, setbacks and stagnations. Many encountered dire situations; situations that would have drowned the average fellow but rather than give up, they maintained their focus and persisted in their pursuits. Michael Jordan, widely acclaimed the greatest basketball player of all time tells of his struggles. He noted thus: “I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” This candid admission of an athlete of his pedigree may come as a shock to many but nonetheless is the reality – an assertion from the horses own mouth. Michael Jordan leveraged what would have ended the career of the average person to his advantage. His accomplishments in the world of basketball are nothing short of spectacular.

That you failed at this project or that task does not mean you can never succeed at it and that you should throw in the towel. That you have pursued this dream for a couple of years but seen little to no positive results, is no license to quit. That you have worked hard in building a business but failed a couple of times is no sure sign that you can never succeed. The first two automobile companies Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company (he became one of the three richest men in his time) established were a flop. Your slow pace in the pursuit of your most cherished dreams in spite of your putting in your best efforts should not deter you from persevering. What you are experiencing is not unique to you. You ought to be challenged to maintain focus and keep trying; keep pushing. It was Thomas Edison who once stated, “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” He modeled this assertion in his quest to invent the light bulb. It is stated that he performed more than 9000 experiments which met with disappointments but rather than give up, he kept at it until he eventually developed the light bulb. His perspective was that he had not failed but had learnt many procedures that will not result in the attainment of his goal, that is, the development of the light bulb. In sync with this perspective he once affirmed, “I haven`t failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won`t work.” I simply cannot overemphasize this fact: just keep trying. Learn from your failures but by all means do not quit in the pursuit of your noble goals and aspirations. Get all the help you possibly can and explore a variety of options. Seek all the counsel and encouragement you possibly can from the right people, certainly not from dream killers and pessimists. Go for the right kind of knowledge. Keep trying. Keep at it until that dream comes to fruition and it sure will.

Author: Daniel Dela Dunoo

A freelance writer/editor, blogger and a published author. His articles, short stories and poems have been featured on several websites, blogs, newspaper publications and magazines such as HR Focus Magazine, MM Focus Magazine, www.ghanatalksbusiness.com, Optimum Magazine and Step Magazine. Email: dudelda3@yahoo.com / danieldeladunoo@gmail.com Blog: http://danieldeladunoo.blogspot.com / http://theroyalwordsmithgh.wordpress.com